- Where are you from (country)?
Uk - How did you find this forum (Google search – if so, what search terms? Via link from a forum or website – if so, what page? Other?)
Google - What is your current age, height, weight?
28 - Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
yes. Jogging. Sprinting up hills. Bench Press. Pull ups. 5 aside football - What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
Typical meat. Vegetables. - Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
hair loss - For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
4 years - How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
19 2005? november? - How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
24 - How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey - What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
propecia - What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1 mg a day. sometimes half a tablet a day. (stupidly) - How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
not until i stopped - What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Put an X beside all that apply:
Sexual
[x ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ x] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ x] Loss of Morning Erections
[ x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ x] Watery Ejaculate
[x ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ x] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ x] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ x] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ x] Joint Pain
[x ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[x ] Prostate pain
[ x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ x] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ x] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
-
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
no treatments -
If you have pre or post-Finasteride bloodtests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (pls post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?
blood tests were normal -
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
-
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I took propecia for about 5 years. I am 28 years now.
I can honestly say It was one of the worst experiences of my life. Second only to my fathers dead when I was child.
It has taken me 4 years to recover.
I had all the horrible things
The things I was suffering from was erections.
Maintaining erection.
Decreased sensitivity in penis
weaker sometimes no erection.
pain at the tip of my penis which i thought was prostatis.
pains in my fingers and toes.
I was suffering from fatigue
I felt depressed.
brainfog
insomnia
The things I did to help was I used free life coaching youtube.com/user/askbrentsmith
youtube.com/watch?v=9GonM4GctIg
david deangelo etc
I meditated try this www.calm.com
I went sprinting up hills once a day
I joined a 5 aside football team
and I bought a cheap bench press and worked out everyday
to cure sleep problems i got this amazon.co.uk/The-Effortless- … 1456492543
And I ate really healthily.
I took 5-HTP supplement for brain fog
I also recommend quitting porn or and masterbation - reddit.com/r/NoFap/
Porn and masterbation over load you with dopamine which leads to not easily getting erections.
Through all of these I linked I learnt to control my mind and train my brain to have positive thoughts which led me to not need to take viagra anymore. I believe its also about the person youre having sex with. if they’re a decent person they will be patient with you and understanding. This alone will make you feel relaxed which yourself to have erections.
It took me about 4 years to get better. I believe time does cure this problem but you must stay positive and not focus on propecia everyday. Keep yourself busy .
I was so depressed and lost and now I am on the other side. I still have symptoms, like a bowels problems and orgasms are getting better but are still not completely better - but I keep a positive state of mind.
Please try these things I have suggested. Sometimes you just have to believe.
Life Coaching can be looked down upon but sometimes when something as traumatic as what has happened to us has happened; sometimes you just need to let someone tell you what to do. To regain the basic things in coping with life.
A lot of people are very negative on this website so I dont really check it much. though its brilliant for the support, but filter the negative stuff.
I now have a beautiful girlfriend and we live in London and I make money out of playing music.
Hope all this helps - ofcourse I get really depressed sometimes but I never thought I would have come this far. This is a horrible battle but if it wasnt for this forum and finding positive stories I would not have overcome it